Is podcasting the latest pet rock fad?  Honestly, the answer might be yes, it would be wrong for me to suggest otherwise.  However, like the printing press and the horseless carriage, new things are always questioned.  TV was never going to replace radio and the internet would never replace newspapers.  Right?

Podcasting is not for everyone, just like business networking is not for every business.  Talk with a leader at LeTip or BNI and they’ll tell you business networking is essential to business growth, but not every business in America belongs to a networking group.  Talk with a podcast producer, and they’ll tell you the same thing about podcasting.

Truth is podcasting is an effective marketing tool just like business networking, but it is not the be all for every business.  The correct answer when asked if podcasting can help your business is mabe…depending on a few factors.  This three part article is about some of those factors.

Part 1: Build trust through podcasting

There is no better way to just an individual than by the sound of their voice.  Podcasting is an opportunity for people to hear your sincerity, intelligence, humor, kindness, and a dozen other subliminally delivered messages.  A well crafted and delivered podcast message will endure people to you long before they seek product or service support.

The nature of podcasting is very personal.  Think of podcast listing like disposable income.  We all make money to meet our life needs: food, shelter, safety, etc.  The money that is left over goes into our disposable income pile, meaning we use it for fun things.  Time works the same.  We spend time on those activities we must to earn the money for the necessities, and the left over time is our disposable time we can use for fun.  Listening to a podcast is NOT a necessity.  No matter how important you believe your topic, your podcast is for entertainment of the listener.

Some people…like me, are entertained by learning things.  Other people love stories.  Entertainment comes in a million different varieties.  If your podcast addresses one of those entertainment factors, then people will trust you and continue to listen.